Law can be classified into many differetn types/areas. These are:
Public Law - 3 types Criminal, Administrative, Constitutional
Criminal - (Anthony)
Criminal law governs crimes, including felonies and misdemeanours. Crimes are generally referred to as offenses against the state. The standard of proof for crimes is "beyond a reasonable doubt." Examples of crimes include: environmental crimes, violence crimes, drugs and alcohol crimes, economic crimes, property crime, cybercrime, organised and transnational crime.
Criminal offences under New South Wales law are based on the common law and some statutory provisions in the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). There are currently plans within some states of Australia to reform the criminal law to achieve greater consistency between states, through the Model Criminal Code. The Commonwealth has its own criminal jurisdiction for offences against federal laws; however, its jurisdiction in criminal matters is more limited than that of the States. Because the Commonwealth is in transition from the common law model to the code model, some Commonwealth offences are located in the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth)
Administrative - (Vanessa)
Constitutional - (Tina)
Private Law - 3 types; Contract, Tort, Property
Contract,(Emely B)
Contract Law:
A contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more parties. Contract law states that for a contract to be enforceable and valid there must be: · An ‘invitation to treat’ which is an ‘invitation’ to a proposal. · An offer, which takes place when a person agrees to the offer and offers to take part of the contract. · Consideration. Under contract law, both parties must benefit from it. If a party does not benefit from this then the contract isn’t valid. During consideration, both parties must accept what is being exchanged. · Acceptance, is when both parties exchange what they agreed to. This is where the contract comes into place. Once exchanged, the contract is complete.
Contract law also requires all parties involved to do so in good faith meaning that they will act fairly and not attempt to deceive each other. When a party fails to do so it’s called ‘unconscionable conduct'.
Tort (Karina) "A body of rights, obligations, and remedies that is applied by courts in civil proceedings to provide relief for persons who have suffered harm from the wrongful acts of others. The person who sustains injury or suffers pecuniary damage as the result of tortious conduct is known as the plaintiff, and the person who is responsible for inflicting the injury and incurs liability for the damage is known as the defendant or tortfeasor." - Legal Dictionary
In essence, Tort Law is a body of law that defines the grounds of a legal injury incurred by the plaintiff as a result of somebody's careless, reckless or deliberate action. The person who suffers legal 'damage' may be able to use tort law to receive compensation for the losses "occasioned by the incident" so as long as the offender has been proven liable. To determine whether Tort Law can be applicable, there are three main classes; intentional torts, negligent torts and strict liability torts. According to the name of the tort, the injured can only recieve compensation if the action has been proven to be under the aforementioned classifications. This is done so by determining the 'standard of care' - a phrase that is used to describe the process of distinguishing between when a conduct is or is not tortious.
Property (Stephanie) Criminal and Civil Court Procedures:
Key definitions (Patrick)
Judge: legal qualified professional who presides over intermediate and superior courts.
Magistrate: legal qualified professional who presides over inferior courts.
Barristers: presents clients case in court
Solicitors: prepares legal case
Standard of proof : level of proof required to win a case.
Burden of proof : which side must prove the case
plaintiff: the person who brings a case in civil law to matter.
Defendant: the person accused of committing a wrong in a civil manner.
Balance of probabilities: the standard of proof required in civil matters. It is based on who is more likely to be telling the truth.
Victim impact statement: A statement given to a judge during the sentencing about the impact of a crime upon the victim.
Criminal Procedure: (Rhiannon)
In criminal court cases, the prosecution represents the community - referred to as the Crown. This is regularily conducted by the Office of the Deaprtment of Prosecutions. Although in minor criminal cases which are heard in local courts the prosecution is represented by a Police Prosecutor. The defendant on the other hand is represented by a barrister, or in rare cases; the defendant may choose to represent themselves.
Twelve random Australian citizens are selected for a dury, to which the criminal case will be heard by. They are to determine the case; using the evidence that is present, the dury decide on the guilt ot innocence of the accused. Yet, before finding the defendant guilty, the dury must beleive this 'beyond reasonable doubt.' As well as this, the judge is there to provide the jury with advise, as well as answering any legal questions.
Or incase you cant understand :)
In a criminal case the standard of proof is beyond reasonable doubt. this means the jury must be convincedwithout doubt that the accused has commited the crime. The burden of proof always lies within the prosecution, therefore the defence can say nothing adn sill be found not guilty (this is in theory) if the prosecutions evidence is unconvincing.
In a civil case, thw standard of proof is based on the balance of probability. with the evidence presented taken into account, the jury of 6 or the judge/magistrate must decide who is more likely to be telling the truth? The burden of proof in civil cases lies within the plaintiff.
Legal Profession - role of:
Judges and magistrates (Jake)
Barristers/solicitors (Billy)
The role of barristers and solicitors vary depending on the case. The solicitor in major cases is the organiser so to speak, he organises the case for the barrister. This is where the barrister uses the information provided by the solicitor to ask witnesses questions and state the reasons for the case. In smaller cases usually the solicitor organises the case as well as acting as a barrister in that the solicitor asks the questions and provides the information to the judge and jury for the case.
During the case the barrister must create doubt in order to have success, “beyond reasonable doubt” must be achieved to be successful in the case. Questions to witnesses along with the use of evidence are the main ways to achieve success in a court case.
Witness (Felipe)
The main role of the witness is to present to the court evidence. Firstly the witness is called up by the barrister. Then the witness is able enter evidence into the court. The opposition barister begins to cross-examine the witness to find flaws within their evidence or character, to create doubt to the jury or judge. The first barrister is then able to if he wishes to re-examine the witness to clear up any doubt/confusion.
Court Officer (Luke)
Judges Associtae / tipstaff (Anne-Maree)
Common Law and Civil Law systems in other countries (Amanda)
Classification of Law:
Law can be classified into many differetn types/areas. These are:
Public Law - 3 types Criminal, Administrative, Constitutional
- Criminal - (Anthony)
Criminal law governs crimes, including felonies and misdemeanours. Crimes are generally referred to as offenses against the state. The standard of proof for crimes is "beyond a reasonable doubt." Examples of crimes include: environmental crimes, violence crimes, drugs and alcohol crimes, economic crimes, property crime, cybercrime, organised and transnational crime.Criminal offences under New South Wales law are based on the common law and some statutory provisions in the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). There are currently plans within some states of Australia to reform the criminal law to achieve greater consistency between states, through the Model Criminal Code. The Commonwealth has its own criminal jurisdiction for offences against federal laws; however, its jurisdiction in criminal matters is more limited than that of the States. Because the Commonwealth is in transition from the common law model to the code model, some Commonwealth offences are located in the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth)
Private Law - 3 types; Contract, Tort, Property
- Contract,(Emely B)
Contract Law:A contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more parties. Contract law states that for a contract to be enforceable and valid there must be:
· An ‘invitation to treat’ which is an ‘invitation’ to a proposal.
· An offer, which takes place when a person agrees to the offer and offers to take part of the contract.
· Consideration. Under contract law, both parties must benefit from it. If a party does not benefit from this then the contract isn’t valid. During consideration, both parties must accept what is being exchanged.
· Acceptance, is when both parties exchange what they agreed to. This is where the contract comes into place. Once exchanged, the contract is complete.
Contract law also requires all parties involved to do so in good faith meaning that they will act fairly and not attempt to deceive each other. When a party fails to do so it’s called ‘unconscionable conduct'.
Tort (Karina)
"A body of rights, obligations, and remedies that is applied by courts in civil proceedings to provide relief for persons who have suffered harm from the wrongful acts of others. The person who sustains injury or suffers pecuniary damage as the result of tortious conduct is known as the plaintiff, and the person who is responsible for inflicting the injury and incurs liability for the damage is known as the defendant or tortfeasor." - Legal Dictionary
In essence, Tort Law is a body of law that defines the grounds of a legal injury incurred by the plaintiff as a result of somebody's careless, reckless or deliberate action. The person who suffers legal 'damage' may be able to use tort law to receive compensation for the losses "occasioned by the incident" so as long as the offender has been proven liable. To determine whether Tort Law can be applicable, there are three main classes; intentional torts, negligent torts and strict liability torts. According to the name of the tort, the injured can only recieve compensation if the action has been proven to be under the aforementioned classifications. This is done so by determining the 'standard of care' - a phrase that is used to describe the process of distinguishing between when a conduct is or is not tortious.
Criminal and Civil Court Procedures:
Key definitions (Patrick)
Judge: legal qualified professional who presides over intermediate and superior courts.
Magistrate: legal qualified professional who presides over inferior courts.
Barristers: presents clients case in court
Solicitors: prepares legal case
Standard of proof : level of proof required to win a case.
Burden of proof : which side must prove the case
plaintiff: the person who brings a case in civil law to matter.
Defendant: the person accused of committing a wrong in a civil manner.
Balance of probabilities: the standard of proof required in civil matters. It is based on who is more likely to be telling the truth.
Victim impact statement: A statement given to a judge during the sentencing about the impact of a crime upon the victim.
Criminal Procedure: (Rhiannon)
In criminal court cases, the prosecution represents the community - referred to as the Crown. This is regularily conducted by the Office of the Deaprtment of Prosecutions. Although in minor criminal cases which are heard in local courts the prosecution is represented by a Police Prosecutor. The defendant on the other hand is represented by a barrister, or in rare cases; the defendant may choose to represent themselves.
Twelve random Australian citizens are selected for a dury, to which the criminal case will be heard by. They are to determine the case; using the evidence that is present, the dury decide on the guilt ot innocence of the accused. Yet, before finding the defendant guilty, the dury must beleive this 'beyond reasonable doubt.' As well as this, the judge is there to provide the jury with advise, as well as answering any legal questions.
Trial Process (Claudia)
Burden and Standard of proof:(Gabriella)
In a criminal case the standard of proof is beyond reasonable doubt. this means the jury must be convincedwithout doubt that the accused has commited the crime. The burden of proof always lies within the prosecution, therefore the defence can say nothing adn sill be found not guilty (this is in theory) if the prosecutions evidence is unconvincing.
In a civil case, thw standard of proof is based on the balance of probability. with the evidence presented taken into account, the jury of 6 or the judge/magistrate must decide who is more likely to be telling the truth? The burden of proof in civil cases lies within the plaintiff.
Legal Profession - role of:
Judges and magistrates (Jake)
Barristers/solicitors (Billy)